Hit Factories

Karl Whitney has written a new book called 'Hit Factories' on the links between music and cities, and how certain cities have a 'sound' to them e.g. the dub reggae of Bristol and the industrial electronica of Sheffield. It's one of the books I've read this summer.
Why did they develop there?
Was it a response to the industrial heritage and migrant heritage of those cities?

His first book was a psychogeographical exploration of Dublin - the 'Hidden City', which he describes in part as:
“edgeland housing adjoining lonely link roads, smashed glass in supermarket car parks, the trickle of a pungent river as it passes through a concrete pipe below a dual carriageway . . . a city defined more by its margins than by its centre, and more by its hidden places than by its obvious landmarks”.
A piece in the Irish Times.


Alongside with this book, I've also got another book about the more rural landscapes and their musical contributions called 'The Lark Ascending'.

A Spotify playlist for the book has also been released, which is always good to see.

Comments